Media Psychology 101 – What’s Wrong With This Metaphor? Israel and the Cycle of Violence

Over the years, HonestReporting has analyzed and critiqued hundreds of articles, editorials and opinion pieces. But what goes through the minds of the journalists and writers that influence them to treat Israel in a certain way?

Here we present our Media Psychology 101 series – taking an academic examination into the minds of the media and how news consumers are influenced by the media’s reporting.

This is the second part of a guest post by Cherryl Smith, PhD, a Professor of English in Rhetoric and Composition at California State University, Sacramento. She is currently writing a book on media framing of Israel.

Recently, the media used their usual terms, “cycle of violence” and “tit for tat” to tell us about events in Israel and Gaza. As always, these terms obscured more than they illuminated. For while they may seem to be descriptions, “cycle of violence” and “tit for tat” are only metaphors.

The more frequently a particular metaphor is used, the less metaphoric it will seem. It can begin to appear that media are actually reporting on a “cycle of violence” rather than just interpreting events this way. Unfortunately, once a metaphor takes hold in the press, it is unlikely to be questioned.

This one is well established, so much so that “cycle of violence” is a dominant news frame through which media routinely view conflict involving Israel. Even without including the words, “cycle” or “tit for tat,” stories are framed around this perspective.

Nevertheless, it is useful to point out the limits and distortions of this frame. While some editors and writers may prefer the cycle of violence frame precisely because it distorts reality, some readers may find themselves reflecting critically on mainstream reporting once they see biases exposed.

There are many problems with the cycle of violence frame, not the least of which is that it does not actually describe the situation. Scholars who carefully tracked violence during the Second Intifada, for example, “found little evidence to suggest there is a cycle of violence.” David A. Jaeger and M. Daniele Paserman concluded that “Israel responds predictably and systematically to Palestinian violence” but that “Palestinian violence is not predictable by past Israeli violence.” Their research identifies an imbalanced pattern: not a cycle so much as a series of attacks on civilians and defensive Israeli responses to such attacks.

There was a young lady named Pat, who had triplets named Tom, Pat, and Tat. The breeding was fun, but hell in the feeding when she found she had no tit for Tat.
So much for the bigotry that is constantly aimed against Israel. The problem being that unless “reporters” did not give their editors what they wanted, the blasted editors would alter the reports to continue the lies about equivalence of attempting to kill civilians and Israel’s attempting to deter the attackers but not civilians.
I’ve got to control my temper whenever I hear someone say that it is all Israel’s fault, that the Jews stole Palestinian land, etc., etc. I was recently attacked in writing for simply telling the historical facts. It’s just a continuation of Jew hate that is neigh unto impossible to stop.

The barrier to Palestinian statehood has never been the Jews or the State of Israel. The Jews offered Arabs a two-state solution in 1919; accepted the two-state solution of the Peel Commission in 1937; accepted the UN two-state solution in 47-48. Israel offered the Palestinians a state in 2000; accepted the Clinton Parameters in 2000-01; and offered a state again at the end of 2008. The Palestinians rejected every offer, becoming the first people in history to reject a state 6 times and then set conditions for discussing another one.

The Palestinians continue to assert they will never recognize a Jewish state. They can’t – it is inconsistent with their identity, and the purpose for which the Palestinian identity was forged. From the Palestinian standpoint, the “peace process” is not about peace, or even about a state, but about reversing history: they seek a state on the 1967 lines to reverse the 1967 war and seek to flood Israel with millions of Arabs to reverse the 1948 war — to return to the time before the wars the Arabs started and lost, and before there was a Jewish state. The real barrier to Palestinian statehood is Palestinian hatred, lies and Rejectionism.

On the fifteenth of May, forty-eight Jews declared their state on the land of Palestine, and this year will be their age (distorted) and sixty-four years! This short-lived in the age of individuals, prior to be in the age of nations, peoples and countries?

A Jewish state in Palestine cacophony and bizarre, and the state has any elements of its existence as well as the continuation, not the elements of a historical or cultural or natural and immoral, inhuman or innate, it is such as (Dimple) virosa festering strange that appears in the human body, and collects the material from the shallow end of the various
members of the body, accompanied by the use of quick drying treatment, and remove it! The State of the Jews on the land of Palestine (DML) is infested with rotten in the body of humanity in this time and does not have any justification for its survival, despite the lapse of these years it – and will go through more years it – but the years are short, will get rid of it humanity, God willing, at the hands of the Mujahideen coming God willing.

Ages of Nations is the age of individuals, and if the age of individuals is measured in years, or tens of years at most, the age of nations is measured by centuries, and when it is said: So and so lived (seven) tens of years, it is said: the nation the Romans – for example – she lived fifteen centuries.

Though history tells us that the nation (Israel) above the pre-Islamic did not last for centuries on the land of Palestine, that is, they did not live life one individual, although the people good, where ended the state of Israel after the death of Prophet Sulaiman peace be upon him. . And the dispersion of the Jews in the land since that date to the present era, where they had gathered – and they are unbelievers Almlonon wrath on them – and they set up their own state, and the curse of God pursuing the Jews and the focus on them, and cheats this state that now exists.

Though history tells us that any nation invading occupied the other nation will not last occupation her long, has passed (the Tatars) passing through stormy devastating effect on the Muslim world, but just pass or not they remain for a .. When he came Crusaders – before the Tatars – to the Holy Land for permanent residence therein; did not reach the residence to two centuries, where expelled by the Muslim Ummah to wake up the spirit of jihad for the sake of God, and centuries in measuring the age of the United Kalashran years in the lives of individuals!!

We must infer history We live in the Jewish-based challenge, honest witness history, and that we must also look ahead, and not remain prisoners of the Arab reality spaniel, and in fact the Jewish Almentvh transcendent empty!! The profiles and signals that indicate the short life of the Jews in Palestine many, and is growing, but needs to Muslim seer deftly to pay attention to it, and draws the attention of the nation it!!

History will record that the State of the Jews on the land of Palestine, died in her childhood crawling, before standing on the her feet, God willing

JERUSALEM — Israel has reported the capture of a Palestinian teenager sent on a suicide mission meant to kill hundreds of people.

Officials said the Palestinian target was a home for 180 orphans and homeless children in Jerusalem. They said a 17-year-old Palestinian from the Bethlehem area of the West Bank was sent with a suitcase filled with explosives to blow up the school.

“It was the kind of attack that we had been warning about for nearly a year and meant to change the strategic balance in the region,” an official said.

The Palestinian was said to have been sent on his mission by the Fatah militia, led by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. It was the first suicide mission attributed to Fatah in more than a month.

Officials said the Palestinian changed his mind as he entered Jerusalem from Bethlehem. They said he left the suitcase near a highway and fled to his home in El Khader, a suburb of Bethlehem.

Israeli soldiers found the suitcase and removed the explosives. Within days, the Palestinian was caught and confessed to the suicide mission.

Officials quoted the Palestinian as saying he had changed his mind when he realized that he was being ordered to kill an unprecedented number of people. So far, up to 30 people have died in any one Palestinian suicide mission.

On Thursday, a combined Israeli task force launched an operation in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. Two PA security officers and a civilian were reportedly killed in the subsequent clash, and 10 others were captured in other areas of the Gaza Strip.

Honestreporting is correct in stating “report from the International Business Times, the cycle of violence frame gives cover for a mostly anti-Israel story.”

When I checked the link, there was a big picture with the heading: “Palestinian women watch funeral of Islamic Jihad militant Mohammed Daher in Gaza City (Reuters)” This is just sick, do to the fact a “Islamic Jihad militant” generally does not discriminate when killing Israelis.

The framing of the conlict may not be able to altered but what can be altered is our and others mindset towards Israel. We can change the conversation away from the conflict to the amazing achievements of the State of Israel that give great benefits to the whole world. One good source of information is a free weekly newsletter at http://www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com .

I have always noted that the “cycle” only begins when Israel reacts. It appears that it only becomes an issue when Israel replies as would any other nation on this planet, and the story always begins with Israel’s “disproportionate” “over reaction” to attacks such as mortar or rocket fire, or the blowing up of a full bus. It is the bread and butter of Middle East reporting, and let us be honest: the world wrings its hands and says “so sad” when Jews are murdered, but becomes indignant when Jews fight back.

On another note: PLEASE stop chopping up all articles into two pages! Its frustrating. We know how to scroll down. Also, the little boxes with “1″ “2″ for the pages always appears over the article’s text and so obscures text. You already have a line to click to go to the next page, so the number boxes are redundant and, well, mess up what you are saying. Seriously, you have a HTML code problem.

These days the lazy reporter or journalist doesn’t care about the language they use. Say whatever and repeat it often enough (Goebbels-style), eventually it will stick. Like their favorite expression “Cycle of Violence”. They clearly have no clue what it really means, and they don’t care? “A series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order and that involve physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone”, according to the dictionary. But do they care? Do they bother? “Cycle of Violence” is so engrained in the grey masses of the willing viewers and readers, not using that expression might actually raise many eyebrows. Condemn Israel, and throw in some other favorites, like genocide, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps and apartheid. Who cares? As long as it sells.

Au contraire, “Cycle of Violence” is actually the correct description of the series of regular Palestinian events, like terrorist attacks, the launching of missiles, blowing up people, yes, even incitements to kill, maim and destroy, the favorite pastime of Imams, Palestinian politicians, and those naive “peace” activists. That is what “Cycles of Violence” are.

Not a soul on earth is expected NOT to defend oneself against such “Cycles of Violence”. Well, except, of course, Israel is the one and only country that is supposed to sit still, not move, and let all that violence willingly take their toll.

But we don’t, and are condemned for that. Not once, not twice, but all the time…it’s getting mighty boring. Whether we use a $100,000 missile to bring down a smuggled Iran-donated missile aimed at whoever they can hit here in Israel, or whether it is our strike against a missile launcher, terrorist, or planner of brutal attacks, we are the violent ones in the eyes of the world’s couch potatoes.

What can we do about it? Not much, except to continue reacting to these “Cycle of Violence” reports…. Mmm, that’s another issue, pointing out (accidental?) errors or misrepresentations to a reporter. I think I am perpetually censored by the likes of the Guardian, or BBC… my nicely worded, polite comments never passed their censorship.